The present invention generally relates to a cash accounting system and, more particularly, to a cash accounting system of a type wherein a cash register to be used in a bank for the registration of transactions and a cash dispenser for dispensing or paying out an amount of money, such as papers and/or coins, required as a result of each transaction are electricaly connected together.
According to the prior art, the amount and the type, i.e., denomination, of money recovered are separately stored in the cash register and the cash dispenser by an operator according to the disposable denomination and money according to the denomination and money to be dispensed by the cash dispenser. This sorting operation performed by the operator is susceptible to error during the calculation and/or during the input operation, while any countermeasures has long been neglected.
The prior art accounting system is shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings and generaly comprises a cash register I and a cash dispenser II.
As shown in FIG. 1, the cash register I includes a mode selector switch 1, a mode information memory 2, a numerical keyboard 3, a function keyboard 4, a keyboard input detector 5, a central processing unit (CPU) 6, a read-only memory (ROM) 7, an interlocking switch 8, a keyboard input discriminator 10, a secondary address counter 11, a secondary memory 12, a secondary input and output control 13, a primary address counter 14, a primary memory 15, a primary input and output control 16, a printer unit 17, a display unit 18 and a data transfer control 19. The primary memory 15 is adapted to store the amount of money transacted according to the denomination.
On the other hand, the cash dispenser II comprises a data transfer control 20, a pay-out control 21, a pay-out drive unit 22, a storage unit 23, a pay-out counter 24, a tray 25 and a pay-out completion detector 26.
The prior art system of the above described construction is selectively operable under setting and registering modes, one at a time, these modes being hereinafter described separately.
Referring to FIG. 2 which illustrates a flow chart of the program of operation under the setting mode, the operator, when he or she wishes to utilize the cash accounting system must set in the cash register I various data necessary to register the particular transaction in the following manner.
In the first place, the mode selector switch 1 must be set to the setting mode to cause the mode information memory 2 to store the mode information. When the operator subsequently depresses a key in one of the numerical keyboard 3 and the function keyboard 4 in order to enter the setting data, the keyboard input detector 5 is activated to cause the mode information to be supplied to and stored in an area a of the CPU 6. When and after the mode information is so stored in the area a of the CPU 6, the CPU 6 handles the data to be subsequently entered as setting data, which data are thereafter processed according to a predetermined program stored in the ROM 7.
Then, in order to determine whether the cash register I is to be interlocked with the cash dispenser II, the interlock switch 8 is manipulated to set at an area b of the CPU 6 a flag indicative of the interlocking of the cash register I with the cash dispenser II.
Thereafter, in order to enter, according to the denomination, the total of the current balance of money in the cash register I and the stock of money in the cash dispenser II, money information is supplied from the numerical keyboard 3 to the CPU 6 through the keyboard input encoder 9 and, subsequently, by the utilization of one of the denomination keys t in the function keyboard 4, instruction specifying the information which has been previously entered according to the denomination is given to the CPU 6 through the keyboard input discriminator 10. The CPU 6 upon receipt of this instruction causes various amounts of money according to the different denimonation to be stored through the input and output control 13 at a denomination area of the secondary memory 12 specified by the secondary address counter 11. On the other hand, although the operator sets the data necessary to register the transaction, the setting of such necessary data is not itself the subject matter of the present invention and the details thereof are herein omitted.
Referring now to FIG. 3, which illustrates a flow chart of the program of operation under the registering mode, it is assumed that the setting of the various data has been completed by the manipulation in the manner described hereinabove and a registration of a transaction is brought about. The operator has to set the selector switch 1 to a registering mode, in a manner similar to the above described procedure, to cause registering mode information to be stored at the area a in the CPU 6. The CPU 6, upon receipt of the registering mode information, deals with the data to be subsequently entered as registering data, which data are thereafter processed according to a predetermined registering program stored in the ROM 7.
More specificaly, by depressing one of the item specifying keys I to N in the function keyboard 4 information concerning which one of the ordinary deposit and the current deposit the particular transaction relates to is entered, and the specification of the item is instructed to the CPU 6 through the discriminator 10. Subsequently, the operator enters the total amount of money transacted into the CPU6 from the numerical keyboard 3 through the encoder 9 and then depresses a pay instruction key in the function keyboard 4 to indicate that the money information which has previously been fed to the CPU 6 through the discriminator 10 is concerned with the process to pay money.
The CPU 6 upon receipt of this instruction, causes the amount of money to be paid to be stored at a pay-out money area of the primary memory 15, specified by the primary address counter 14, through the primary input and output control 16. At the same time, this information can be printed out from the printer 17 and displayed through the display unit 18.
Subsequently, in order to specify the amount of money to be paid out according to the different denominations, the operator manipulates the numerical keyboard 3 to feed the money information to the CPU 6 through the encoder 9 and also manipulates one of the denomination specifying keys t in the function keyboard 4 to instruct the CPU 6 through the discriminator 10 as to the amount of money according to the diferent denomination. The CPU 6 upon receipt of this instruction causes it to be stored at a predetermined area of the primary memory 15 specified by the primary address counter 14, through the primary input and output control 16. Simulatneously therewith, these data are printed out through the printer 17.
Furthermore, the CPU 6 determines the presence or absence of the flag in the area b, and then determines whether or not the cash dispenser II is interlocked. In this case, since the cash dispenser II is interlocked, the CPU 6 determines whether or not the amount of money of different denomination, which is entered, can be paid out through the cash dispenser. If the amount of money of different denomination can be paid out through the cash dispenser, the CPU 6 upon completion of the data of money of different denomination gives an instruction to pay to the cash dispenser through the data transfer control 19.
When this instruction is received by the cash dispenser II through the data transfer control 20, the money stored in the storage unit 23 is dispensed by the drive unit 22 under the control of the pay-out control unit 20 to dispense the money onto the tray 25. Money to be dispensed is counted by the pay-out counter unit 24 and a count signal from the counter unit 24 is supplied to the pay-out completion detector 26. When the pay-out of the money of different denomination has been completed, the detector 26 generates a pay-out completion signal to the pay-out control unit 21.
When the pay-out of the money of different denominations has completely been finished in the manner as hereinabove described, the pay-out control unit 21 transfers a pay-out completion command to the cash register I through the data transfer control unit 20.
The CPU 6, upon receipt of this command, determines whether or not the amount of money to be paid out which has prevously been entered coincides with the amount of money actually paid out, and if they coincide with each other, the amount of money actually paid out is substracted from the current stock of different denominations stored in the secondary memory 12.
In this way, the registration of the transaction is completed, and the necessary data in the primary memory 15 are transfered to and stored in the secondary memory 12 while a printed record is issued from the printer unit 17 and the contents of the primary memory 15 are completely cleared in readiness for the next succeeding registration of a transaction.
The foregoing description applies where the cash dispenser II is interlocked with the cash register I. However, where it is not interlocked, at the time of completion of the entry of the money data according to different denomination, the operator, by the manipulation of a verifying key A in the function keyboard 4, has to give to the CPU 6 an instruction to verify so that a check can be made as to whether or not the amount of money to be paid out which has previously been entered coincides with the amount of money of all denominations.
Upon receipt of this instruction, the CPU 6 functions, if they are found coinciding, in such a manner as to cause the amount of money actually paid out to be subtracted from the current stock of money of different denomination and as to cause the data stored in the primary memory 15 to be transferred to the secondary memory 12 while a printed record is issued through the printer unit 17 and the contents of the primary memory 15 is cleared in readiness for the next succeeding registration of transaction.
As hereinbefore described, the prior art cash accounting system is such that the cash dispenser II serves only to pay out the money in response to a command from the cash register I and to generate a completion confirming signal whereas the printer unit 17 in the cash register I merely serves to issue a printed record based on information within the domain of the cash register I.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the prior art cash accounting system is such that one cash register I is usualy coupled with one cash dispenser II while it is generally considered desirable that, as shown in FIG. 4(b), two cash registers IA and IB can concurrently utilize one cash dispenser II. If two cash registers are merely interlocked with the cash dispenser, the system will fail to perform an accurate management of the current stock of money in that system.